Sciatica VA Disability Claims

Back injuries and musculoskeletal injuries can result in sciatica, which is quite common for military veterans. When sciatica is serious and severe, it can make life extremely difficult and uncomfortable.

Such veterans that suffer from sciatica may be eligible for VA disability benefits if they can prove that their issue is a result of their time spent in the service.

If you’re not sure if you qualify, we’re here to help. Discover exactly what sciatica is and whether your nerve ratings allow you to claim benefits for your condition.

What Is Sciatica?

Sciatica refers to pain that links to a problem with the sciatic nerve. This is the biggest nerve in the human body, and it extends from the lower back right through the hips and buttocks and down each leg.

Those suffering from sciatica will experience pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve which travels from the lower back down through the legs. Usually, sciatica only alters one side of the body.

Sciatica can be incredibly difficult to live with and in severe cases can cause difficulty in walking and paralysis.

One of our VA disability lawyers talks about VA benefits for back pain.

What Causes Sciatica?

In many cases, sciatica is the result of a ruptured intervertebral disk, an injury, or narrowing of the spinal canal that applies pressure on the nerve. The latter is known as spinal stenosis.

Sciatica happens when the sciatic nerve is irritated, leading to shooting pain, weakness, tingling or burning through the buttocks and down a leg, or both.  

Sciatica usually happens when the sciatic nerve compresses. This is often the result of a herniated disk in the spine or an overgrowth of bone on the vertebrae.

This results in inflammation, pain, and usually some numbness in the affected leg. Sciatica occurs when the pressure on the spinal nerve results in pain developing on the lower back, buttocks, and legs.

Remember, sciatica is the pain that an individual receives when the sciatic nerve is irritated. Sciatica is not a direct diagnosis of the problem. Instead, it’s a precise way of describing the location of the pain.

Spinal Stenosis VA Disability Benefits

What Are the Symptoms of Sciatica?

There are several common symptoms of sciatica. They include, but are not limited to:

• Pain, weakness, and numbness in the lower back
• Difficulty walking or moving around
• A burning or tingling sensation
• Paralysis
• Moderate to extreme pain
• Inability to move legs, feet, or toes

When a person is suffering from sciatica, they may also find that they experience:

• The highest level of pain when they’re sitting or standing
• A relief when lying down or walking
• Difficulty standing up for long periods or walking for a long time
• A worsened pain after sudden movements such as sneezing or coughing

As mentioned, such symptoms usually affect one side of the body. However, in rare circumstances, veterans can experience bilateral sciatica.

How Is Sciatica Diagnosed?

Sciatica is usually diagnosed following a complete medical examination by a doctor.

To understand the causes of your sciatica, the first stage of the examination will involve you giving a complete history of your pain and symptoms relating to the issue. The location of your symptoms, the movements that heighten the pain, and the actions that provide you with relief are all factors that are important in your diagnosis.

Once the history of your sciatica has been established, a physical exam will then be completed by a state-certified technician to understand the underlying cause of your sciatica issue.

In your physical exam, a health professional will look at your spinal range of motion, your balance, and posture. They’ll also check the reflexes in your knees, as well as your nerves.

If your sciatica is severe, you may also have to take an orthopedic exam. This is because it can offer valuable information on the causes of your problem. If you think you may be suffering from sciatica, but you’ve never visited the doctor about it, pick up the phone and call the VA nearest to you to make an appointment.

Do You Have a Service Connection With Sciatica?

If you have a service-related back condition, your sciatica is likely connected to this, as sciatica is usually caused by other back issues. Common examples of back problems that cause sciatica include spinal stenosis or disc herniations.

If you don’t have a service-related back condition, don’t worry because you may still be able to get your sciatica service-connected. As we mentioned earlier, sciatica is caused by the irritation of the roots of the lower lumbar and lumbosacral spine, which can result from several physical activities.

If you think you injured yourself during your time in service, try to make some notes. Remember if you ever fell, what your daily activities included, and how those activities could hurt your back. If any of your buddies are around to remember it or talk about it, get their input too. A buddy statement can go a long way as we add it to your evidence.

Support your beliefs with professional medical records before and after service to demonstrate that you didn’t suffer from back pain until after your time in service. If your mom remembers a before and after, have her talk to our staff to write up a lay statement to back your case.

Be sure to request an opinion from your physician stating that your sciatica issues are likely a result of your time in service.

How Does the VA Rate Sciatica and Related Issues?

When it comes to requesting benefits from the VA, sciatic nerve conditions such as sciatica are ranked in three different categories established on the degree of severity of symptoms. These are paralysis, neuritis, and neuralgia.

Paralysis is the most severe classification, followed by neuritis, and then neuralgia. Each of these ratings of conditions has sub-categories which are mild, moderate, or severe symptoms.

Paralysis and the Sciatic Nerve

A sciatic nerve condition like complete paralysis of the sciatic nerve results in the muscles in the leg and below the knee worsening. This is when the nerve cannot function at all. This makes it difficult to bend the knee and could lead to an 80 percent disability rating.

Incomplete but severe paralysis of the sciatic nerve may lead to a 60 percent disability rating. This can be demonstrated by muscular atrophy, poor blood circulation, and limited movement of the affected body part.

Incomplete paralysis can be determined as severe, moderately severe, moderate, or mild with disability ratings as low as 10 percent.

Neuritis VA Ratings

Symptoms including severe loss of reflexes, loss of sensation, muscle atrophy, and severely reduced movement can be considered severe neuritis. The nerve functions, however, it is swollen, irritated, and painful. This could offer a veteran a 60 percent disability rating for their sciatic nerve condition.

Symptoms of moderately severe, moderate, and mild sciatic neuritis can be given a range of ratings including 40, 20, and 10 percent.

Neuralgia Disability Ratings

Symptoms of tingling, numbness, and moderate to severe pain with intervention with the affected limb’s functionality would be considered moderate neuralgia. The nerve is occasionally or consistently painful and it can include a tingling or numbness. This could result in a 20 percent disability rating,

Mild neuralgia can lead to a 10 percent disability rating if there are symptoms of only mild or there’s a mild intervention with the limb’s functionality.

Once it’s decided which category your illness falls under, you can be graded either under that category or under limited motion. That’s because if your sciatica results in limited motion, you can only receive one rating for it.

But, if your limited motion is the result of something else, then you can be ranked for both your sciatica and your limited motion.

Use our VA disability calculator to estimate your
combined VA rating and monthly payment

How Do I Rate My Sciatica?

To understand which of the three classifications your sciatica falls under, look to the sciatic nerve itself. Think of the three classifications like levels.

To qualify for the next level up, you need to meet all the criteria of one category. So, start at the bottom and work your way up.

Once you’ve understood which category your condition falls into, determine the level of severity of the symptoms by looking at the loss of function it causes you.

Here’s a tip: after checking where you’d be ranked under sciatica code, check whether you have limited motion of your hip, knee, or ankle. This could help you gain a higher rating.

How Do I Establish Service Connection for Sciatica?

To be eligible for VA disability benefits for sciatica, you must first prove that your condition is the result of your time in the military service. For direct service connection, you should prove the three elements:

• A current, diagnosed sciatica condition
• An in-service situation or event that may have caused or contributed to your problem
• A medical opinion linking the in-service situation or event to your sciatica condition (a nexus letter)

Once you’re diagnosed with sciatica or a related issue, it’s time to file a VA disability claim for VA benefits.

Remember, sciatica may also be a secondary issue to other service-related conditions, so be sure to check with your doctor or health care provider for a medical opinion. Then, file a disability claim for your medical issues.

What Principles Apply?

When applying for VA benefits for sciatica and related conditions, certain principles apply.

Pyramiding is Not Allowed

Remember, a single condition can only be ranked once. However, it’s important to note that if a mental disorder or another condition is present that’s additional to the sciatica condition (and not caused by it), then that problem can also be rated.

Probative Value

If two exams record the diagnosis differently, then the exam with the most exhaustive data and performed by the most qualified professional in that sector will be the exam the rating is based on. Not all doctors know how VA disability applications work, so we have doctors on our staff to review your application before it goes to the VA. Our on-staff doctors know what the VA wants when it comes to granting benefits.

A Tie Goes to the Veteran

If there are two equally strong exams with conflicting data, or if the sciatica issue can be equally rated under two different codes, then the one that offers the highest rating will be used. Remember, every conflict is resolved in support of the higher rating. If they can be shown to warrant separate ratings, then they will be combined together.

Use our VA disability calculator to estimate your
combined VA rating and monthly payment

Accurate Measurements

The required information to rank your condition must be recorded by the physician in your exam correctly. By using the information we’ve provided you with, you should understand what needs to be measured and recorded for a proper diagnosis. Ensure that this occurs properly to make sure you receive a genuine rating. We stay with you every step of the way during your application or appeal process. We’ll schedule follow-ups and hound the VA if necessary to move your case along.

Hospital or Convalescent Ratings

Some conditions involve hospitalization or consistent medical care, such as an at-home nurse, for example.

Any sciatica condition that needs this is rated 100% during this specialized treatment. Once it ends, then the 100% rating will be used for a certain timeframe. This period is three months unless another length (such as six months or one year) is noted in the condition ratings.

Some patients may require more time to recover than others. In such cases, the physician or rating authorities can extend this period as necessary.

One of our VA disability lawyers talks about SMC and how you can actually get more than 100% of your VA disability benefit money.

Do You Need Help Determining Your Nerve Ratings?

It can be hard distinguishing between the three categories and degrees of severity to understand your nerve ratings. If you need help claiming benefits for sciatic nerve issues, you believe you received an unfairly low rating, or your claim was denied, we’re here to help.

Here at Woods and Woods VA Disability Lawyers, we’ve been helping veterans gain the VA rating they deserve for years and we have the skill and experience to help you gain the support you need.